Closure latch



April 16, 1968 M. BRIAN CLOSURE LATCH Filed April 25, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

BY W/z'c/me/ 527i? MM ATTORNEY M. BRIAN CLOSURE LATCH April 16, 1968 Filed April 25, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet :1;

INVENTOR. BY mc/zae/ 527m ,(Zzlazf fidw ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,378,291 CLOSURE LATCH Michael Brian, Utica, Mich., assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 25, 1966, Ser. No. 545,093 9 Claims. (Cl. 292--68) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A vehicle rear deck lid is provided with a pull down latch. The latch comprises a rotatable disc upon which an elongated member is eccentrically mounted such that rotation of the disc will reciprocate the member. A latch member is pivotally mounted on the end of the elongated member for movement therewith so as to engage and disengage a striker. A detent member is rotatably mounted on the elongated member and is operative to retain the latching member in latched position and to be automatically or manually operated to release the latch member.

This invention relates generally to closure latches and more specifically to a power operated latch for moving a vehicle rear deck lid between partially open and fully closed positions.

In a closure latch of this type, latch means and striker means are provided with one mounted on the deck lid and the other on a rear body panel. One of the means is extensible to engage the other of the means in a partially open position of the lid and retractable to fully close the lid on the rear deck compartment. This type of latch is frequently known as a pull-down latch.

One feature of this invention is that the latch means are mounted on the deck lid for reciprocation between 1 extended and retracted positions and for engagement with the striker means mounted on a rear deck panel of the vehicle. Another feature is that the latch means include a latch plate pivoted to a reciprocating crank arm which pivotably mounts a detent plate engageable with the latch plate. Yet another feature is that the crank arm is eccentrically mounted on a plate rotatable by an electric motor for effecting the reciprocation. Still another feature is that switch means are provided for energizing the motor for two cycles to effect reciprocation of the crank arm between retracted and extended positions.

A further feature is that remote switch means are actuatable to energize the motor to extend the crank arm, whereupon the detent plate engages an undogging peg to disengage the latch plate from the striker means to permit movement of the lid to open position. A yet further feature is that closure of the deck lid to partially open position causes engagement of the latch plate with the striker means and actuation of switch means to energize the motor and move the crank arm from extended to retracted positions to move the lid to fully closed position. A still further feature is that actuation of a conventional key operated lock disengages the latch plate from the striker means and actuates switch means to energize the motor to move the crank arm from retracted to extended positions to permit movement of the lid to open position.

Further features of this invention will become readily apparent upon reference to the following detailed descrip tion of the attached drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a partial rear perspective view of a vehicle embodying a closure latch according to this invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken generally on the plane indicated by line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken generally on line 3,378,291 Patented Apr. 16, 1968 3-3 of FIGURE 2, showing the latch means in retracted position;

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 3, showing the latch means in intermediate position;

FIGURE 5 is a detail view showing the latch means in extended position; and

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to FIGURE 3, showing the latch means in extended position.

Referring now to FIGURE-S 1 and 2 of the drawings, a vehicle 10 has a rear deck lid 12 conventionally mounted adjacent its forward edge for swinging movement be tween an open position, not shown, and a closed position, as shown, with respect to a rear storage compartment. Referring now to FIGURE 2, lid 12 is secured in closed position, with a peripheral seal 14 compressively engaging 'a lip 16 of a body panel 18, by engagement of a lid mounted latch mechanism 20 with striker means 22 mounted on body panel 18. Striker means 22 comprises a U-shaped striker bar 24 mounted on a plate 26 which is conventionally attached to a body panel 28.

Referring now to FIGURES 2 and 3, latch mechanism 20 includes a housing member 30 which is mounted to an inner lid panel 32 by bolts 34. A cover member 36 mounts a conventional unidirectional electric motor 38 which is connected to a conventional power source, such as a storage battery, not shown. Motor 38, controlled by switch means to be later described, drives a rotatable disk 40 counterclockwise as indicated, within housing 30. A crank arm 42 is eccentrically pivoted by a pin 44 to disk 40 and is reciprocated between an extended position, FIGURE 3, and a retracted position, FIGURE 6, by rotation of disk 40. A latch plate 46 is pivoted by a pin 48 to crank arm 42. A detent plate 50 is pivoted by a pin 52 to crank arm 42 and has a lobe 54 engageable with a segment 56 of latch plate 46. Thus, latch plate 46 and detent plate 50 are reciprocable with crank arm 42. A spring 58 is coiled about pins 48 and .52 and has arms 59 and 58' engaging plates 46 and St) to bias these plates counterclockwise.

Assume now that the deck lid is in the closed position of FIGURE 1, with latch plate 46 latchingly engaging striker bar 24 and crank arm 42 in the retracted position of FIGURE 3, and it is desired to open the lid. A conventional remote switch, such as a push button switch 60 mounted on the vehicle dashboard, FIGURE 2, is actuated to energize motor 38, whereupon disk 40 rotates counterclockwise and to extend crank arm 42 from its retracted position. As arm 42 extends, a lobe 62 of detent plate 50 contacts an undogging peg 64 mounted on housing 30. As shown in FIGURE 4, upon further extension of arm 42, peg 64 rotates detent plate 56 counterclockwise to disengage lobe 54 from segment 56. This permits spring arm 59' to rotate plate 46 counterclockwise to disengage latch plate 46 from striker bar 24. Lid 12 is now free to move to open position under pressure of the conventional lid hinge counterbalance spring, not shown. After latch plate 46 disengages striker bar 24, arm 42 moves to the extended position shown in FIG- URE 5.

The control of motor 38 will now be described. Motor 38 is controlled to rotate in two approximately cycles, corresponding to the movement of crank arm 42 between extended and retracted positions. Motor 38 is connected directly to the power source and is energized by completing the circuit to ground through housing 30 and the vehicle body. At the terminus of one cycle, corresponding to the retracted crank arm position of FIG- URE 3, a spring contact arm 66, connected to the motor, engages an insulated cam lobe 68 on disk 40. Upon energi- Zation of the motor, as by the remote switch 60 described above, disk 40 rotates lobe 68 out of engagement with contact arm 6-6, which then engages the conductive surface of disk 4-0, grounding the motor circuit through housing 30. Thus motor 38 is self-energizing after release of remote switch 60 until contact arm 66 engages a second insulated cam lobe 70, spaced approximately 180 from lobe 68. The motor then de-cnergizes in a position corresponding to the crank arm extended position of FIGURES 5 and 6.

When it is desired to close lid 12, the lid is moved downwardly until latch plate 46 engages striker bar 24 as shown in FIGURE 5. Referring now to FIGURE 6, continued downward pressure will force latch plate 46 counterclockwise to bias detent lobe 54 upwardly to its phantom line position until it latching y engages segment 56. As latch plate 46 rotates, a segment 72 thereof engages a spring contact arm 74 mounted on housing and connected to motor 33. This grounds the motor circuit through latch plate 46 and housing 30, energizing motor 38 to rotate disk 40 and retract arm 42. As disk 4% rotates, contact arm 66 disengages lobe 70 and engages described above. As shown in FlGURES 1 and 2, lid 12 1 includes a conventional cylinder lock 7 6 which is connected by an arm 78 to a rotatable lever 80 mounted in housing 34). When lid 12 is closed and crank arm 42 is in the retracted position shown in FIGURE 3, actuation of the lock will rotate lever $0 clockwise. This causes a cam surface 82 of lever 80 to engage a spur 84 of detent plate 59 and rotate plate 50 to the phanom line position, with lobe 54 disengaging segment 56 to effect unlatching of latch plate 46 from striker bar 24. As lever 80 rotates, a lobs 86 thereon forces a spring arm 88 into engagement with contact arm 66 to ground the motor circuit through lever 80 and housing 30 and energize motor 38. The operation is thereafter identical with that described above, with contact arm 66 disengaging cam lobe 68 and engaging the surface of disk 40 to maintain energization of motor 38 until the extended position of crank arm 42 is reached.

The lower end of arm 42 is laterally stabilized during reciprocation by pin 48 which engages ledges 90 flanking an opening 91 in housing 30, as shown in FIGURE 2, and by a spur 92 which engages one wall 94 of the lower portion of housing 30. The counterclockwise rotation of latch plate 46 is limited by the engagement of angular tab 96 with spur 92, as shown in FIGURE 5.

Thus this invention provides a power operated latch which is operable by remote means or by actuation of a conventional lock to unlatch a rear deck lid and is Operable upon latching engagement to pull down the lid tightly into closed position. While only a preferred embodiment is shown and described, modifications thereof are contemplated within the scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. In combination with a closure member movable be tween open and closed positions relative to a support member, a closure latch comprising striker means mounted on one of said members, a reciprocating member movable between extended and retracted positions mounted on the other of said members, latch means mounted on the reciprocating member for movement therewith between extended and retracted positions, the latch means being latchingly engageable with and unlatchingly disengageable from the striker means, a rotatable member eccentrically mounting the reciprocating member thereon to effect reciprocation of the reciprocating member upon rotation of the rotatable member, control means for controlling the rotation of the rotatable member, and detent means responsivc to reciprocatory movement of the reciprocating member and the latch means for selectively engaging the latch means to effect latching and Llnlatching of the latch means.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein the detent means include a detent member mounted on the reciprocating member for movement therewith between extended and retracted positions and for movement between positions effecting the latching and unlatching of the latch means, and detent actuating means mounted on said other iember for engagement with the detent member during movement of the reciprocating member from retracted to extended positions to effect unlatching of the latch means.

3. The combination recited in claim 1, wherein the conrol means includes power means for rotating the rotatable member and first power control means operable by latching engagement of the latch means with the striker means to energize the power means to move the reciprocating member from extended to retracted positions.

4. The combination recited in claim 3, wherein the control means include second power control means selectively operable to energize the power means to move the reciprocating member from retracted to extended positions.

5. The combination recited in claim 4, wherein the control means includes third power control means operable upon energization of the power means to sustain energizetion of the power means through a first cycle to move the reciprocating member from retracted to extended positions, through a second cycle to move the reciprocating member from extended to retracted positions, and to deenergize the power means after each cycle.

6. The combination recited in claim 5, wherein the power means includes a source of power, an electric motor, and control circuit means interconnecting the motor and the source of power, the first, second and third power control means comprising respective first, second and third switch means in the control circuit means, each actuatable to close the circuit to energize the motor.

7. The combination recited in claim 6, wherein the third switch means includes a peripheral contact surface on the rotatable member, a contact member mounted on the said other member for engagement with the contact surface during the first and second cycles, and a pair of insulated members mounted on the peripheral surface of the rotatable member at spaced points for engagement with the contact member at the termination of the first and second cycles, thereby energizing the motor during the first and second cycles to extend and retract the reciprocating member, and de-encrgizing the motor at the termination of each of. the cycles to retain the reciprocating member in extended and retracted positions.

3. The combination recited in claim 2, wherein the detent means includes second detent actuating means mounted on said other member and operable to selectively engage the detent member in retracted position to unlatch the latch means.

9. The combination recited in claim 8, wherein the control means includes power means for rotating the rotatable member and means actuated by operation of the second detent actuating means for energizing the power means to the rotatabe member and move the reciprocating memher from extended to retracted positions.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,019,043 1/1962 Woodworth et al 2921 13 3,115,763 12/1963 Bart'ett.

FOREIGN PATENTS 588,490 12/1959 Canada. 437,256 10/1935 Great Britain.

RlCEiARI) E. MOORE, Primary Examiner.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CQRRECTION Patent No. 3,378,291 April 16, 1968 Michael Brian It is certified that error appears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 3, line 40, "lobs" should read lobe Column 4, line 61, after "to" insert rotate Signed and sealed this 9th day of September 1969.

(SEAL) Attest:

Edi vard M. Fletcher, Jr. WILLIAM E. SCHUYLER, JR.

Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

